Texas is drying up, thanks to fracking (and Republicans)
Once again the UK news organization, The Guardian, is doing more to inform Americans on American issues than the American media. I may write more on that issue later – but for now, let’s focus on the droughts in Texas.
Record droughts are drying up Texas, but if that weren’t bad enough, water supplies are also being drained by “fracking” operations (the process by which oil companies use hydrolic pressure – water mixed with chemicals they don’t have to disclose – to fracture and suck up oil solids buried far underground). There are thousands of fracking installations in Texas, and each one could use up to 8 million gallons of water.
The end result is that many Texas towns are now running out of water, their aquifers completely drained.
After reading this story, and watching the video – which I highly recommend (link below) – I composed this letter to the citizens of the great state of Texas, which I humbly submit them through the interwebs.
Dear Texas: I’m sorry for your troubles. I hope you get your water back soon. I’m praying for rain, but I’m sorry I can’t do anything about climate change. I also can’t do anything about your politicians. Maybe it’d help, if you’d stop voting for the same guys who have been running your state since the 70s. They’re the ones who allowed fracking and oil companies to take your water. They’re the ones who feel oil companies are entitled to your water, and that you have no right to it. They’re the ones who deny the causes of the very droughts you face right now. Even though they deny man has caused climate change, they don’t deny climate change itself – which is especially concerning, since they’ve not even offered any suggestions to help you deal with that fact. But that’s not all… You’ve been voting for the same politicians who are, at present, trying to appease and attract even more extreme tea party politicians to join them. In case you haven’t heard, tea party libertarians don’t believe government should help anyone for any reason – not for disaster or drought, not for healthcare or public education. Nothing. They only want government to get out of the way of business. If that’s what you want, then just keep voting for them.
Best regards,
A fellow American
Here’s the article by The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/11/texas-tragedy-ample-oil-no-water
